Police lament hurdles in probing sexual crimes

When I met Inspector Tela at a police station in one of the slums in Nairobi County, she had just returned from the Milimani Law Courts. She had appeared in court over a defilement case of a four-year-old girl abused by a male neighbour.

I was equally following up on a sexual abuse case involving a 10-year-old boy.

"Parents expect me to arrest the suspect immediately after filing a report. They don't know that I have to investigate and gather sufficient evidence, forward the file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). I'll only proceed to court when the ODPP approves the file," she explained, in response to why the suspect in the case I was pursuing had yet to be arrested.

Gender desk

Tela leads gender desk at the station, which is the only unit that investigates sexual crimes. Her name has been changed to protect her from harsh punishment as protocol demands that she keeps work-related hardship off the media. 

"My work is regulated by law. I can't arrest a suspect and keep him or her in the cell as I go out to collect evidence. It's totally illegal. They should appear in court within 24 hours of arrest and if there is no evidence to that effect, he or she will be released. Will that be justice to the victim?" she asked.

Other times, devastated parents inadvertently frustrate their work, not knowing they are interfering with speedy investigations. The station’s police boss, whose name shall be withheld for similar reasons, said: "You will arrest a suspect and summon the parent to come and record a statement. But in their minds, they want to punish him and so they come after three or four days, not knowing holding a suspect beyond 24 hours is breaking the law."

Confidentiality

The station boss says Inspector Tela lacks a secluded office to assure the survivors of confidentiality. She shares a room with the rest of the officers. “So every time an officer pops in, she has to stop then continue when the officer has left," he said.

"According to the law, she is supposed to have a separate office and be in civilian so that she doesn't scare off the victims, especially children."

Tela says death threats have become part of her life. "I have been threatened so many times by relatives of the suspects but that doesn't scare me. I always tell myself I'll do my work to my very best. In any case, death is unpredictable. I can be knocked down on the road and die or I can suddenly die in the house. So threats are least of my concerns," she said.

But there is one thing that most concerns her. She is not funded to investigate and even ferry suspects to court. "I forgo buying my children bread to fuel my car or hire Uber to ferry suspects to court. I again dig deep into my pockets to facilitate my movements in doing investigation."

But even after all the sacrifices, families fail her by hiding survivors when they are expected to be witnesses in court, ending up derailing the case or it is dismissed all together.

They appeal to Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai to fully equip and allocate adequate resources to police stations serving slum population. This, they add, would facilitate effective service delivery so that justice is served expeditiously.

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